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Bradley Manning WikiLeaks case spotlights military justice

Manning is accused of leaking hundreds of thousands of documents to WikiLeaks, including Iraq and Afghanistan war logs, confidential State Department cables and a classified military video of a 2007 Apache helicopter attack in Iraq that killed a Reuters news photographer and his driver.

The presiding official at an Article 32 hearing is called the investigating officer, not a judge. The investigating officer is often a military attorney, a judge advocate, but legal training isn't required.

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Military prosecutors represent the government, just as civilian prosecutors represent the state in civilian courts. All defendants are assigned military defense attorneys, but those facing serious charges often retain civilian lawyers to lead their defense.

Manning's civilian lawyer is David E. Coombs, an Army Reserve lieutenant colonel from Fall River, Mass., who has tried more than 130 military cases.

During an Article 32 hearing, lawyers can call witnesses and make motions, just as in civilian court. But the military tightly controls public access to written filings.

There is no court clerk from whom such documents can be readily obtained. Except for what's said in court, most of the public information about proceedings comes from civilian defense lawyers, who aren't bound by a chain of command.

Unlike a preliminary hearing in a criminal case, Military Article 32 proceedings can last for days.

Afterward, the investigating officer writes a report to the commander who ordered the investigation — in this case, the commander of the Military District of Washington, Maj. Gen. Michael S. Linnington — with a recommendation on how to proceed. Possible outcomes include a general court-martial, administrative punishment or dismissal of some or all of the charges.

There are three types of courts-martial. The general one at issue in this case is the most serious.

General courts-martial can impose the death penalty, although prosecutors have said they will not do so in Manning's case. He faces a maximum sentence of life in a military prison, commonly known as a brig.

Manning is already very familiar with brigs. He's been in at least three of them since his arrest.

Most recently Manning has been in a military prison at Fort Leavenworth in Kansas. It is a dramatic change from his previous quarters in a Virginia Marine Corps brig where he spent 23 hours a day alone in his cell.

Readers' Comments (3)

Manning is a patriot, abused by the goverment, shame of Obama/Holder doing this to a US Citizen, he guilty or not guilty... the US Constitution allways prevails and need apply to him, his rights, the basic one of all, he NOT Guilty, presumed inocent till proven the contrary....presumtion of inocence, and is said US a democracy ruled by Laws ? FAKE LIE, there is this case and many hidden secret prisions in US soils plus Guantanamo, a shame xxxx no Obama re-election, remember.....

You do not understand the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ) and military law. These are rules and laws the member accepts and agrees to follow in addition to the ones an ordinary citizen must follow. There were multiple forms this guy signed that told him what would happen if he did what he is accused of. Be it right or wrong in your eyes, he is facing his actions. In the military with the investigations it conducts before it even charges a member, doesn’t usually get this far unless there is more than smoke. Yes, politics are involved, but it would do more damage to the US and the military if this was a fabrication. The truth comes out much sooner than later in the military. On top of that, I would put up the military’s record of false convictions versus the civilian system per capita.